Liquid polyisocyanate compositions and process for the production thereof



te States atent O US. Cl. 260-453 6 Claims Liquid isocyanate compositions useful in the manufacture of polyurethanes are prepared by heating a de gassed and essentially solvent-free tolylene-diamine phosgenation mixture at a temperature in the range of 140- 200 C. for 225 hours and distilling from the resulting mixture a monomeric tolylene diisocyanate fraction equal to about 3 to 30% by weight and recovering the distill and as the desired composition.

It has already been proposed to polymerize isocyanates, especially with the production of the dimeric uretedione forms by subjecting isocyanates to the action of various catalysts, for example in the presence of pyridine, substituted pyridines, trialkyl phosphines and the like. It has also been proposed to polymerize isocyanates, particularly with the production of trimeric, isocyanurate forms by contacting monoisocyanates and diisocyanates with an even greater variety of catalysts, such as alkali earth metal alkoxides, tertiary amines, transition metal halides and the like. In these catalytic processes, the dimerization, as well as the trimerization reactions occur exothermally and continue until the bulk of the isocyanate has been consumed. Products derived from such processes, containing so-called masked isocyanate groupings which revert to reactive isocyanate groups on heating have a limited use in the manufacture of specialized urethane foams where high polymerization and high foaming temperatures are required. In the manufacture of rigid and of flexible urethane foams for most applications, it is desirable to interact a relatively non-volatile, toluene dissocyanate derived polyisocyanate composition having a viscosity range of about 30 to 1000 and preferably in the range of about 50250 cps. at 26 C. and having an isocyanate content of 33 to 43 and preferably 37-41 weight percent, with a high molecular weight polyol in the presence of a catalyst such as stannous octoate and a blowing agent such as trichlorofiuoromethane in what is currently known in the art as a one-shot foaming process as compared to the time consuming and less economical two-step prepolymer process. For such one-shot foam applications, polymeric isocyanates consisting mainly of isocyanate dimers, otherwise known as uretediones and polymeric isocyanate compsitions consisting mainly of trimeric isocyanates, otherwise known as isocyanurates, are not suitable due to the slow rate at which the so-called masked isocyanate groups revert to the active isocyanate form and due to the difiiculties encountered in incorporating these high-melting and insoluble dimerand trimer-containing polyisocyanates into liquid formulations suitable for the manufacture of urethane foams, in industrial foaming apparatus.

It is therefore an object of this invention to prepare liquid polyisocyanate compositions suitable for the manufacture of urethane polymers. It is another object of this invention to provide a process for preparing storable liquid polyisocyanate compositions especially suitable for the manufacture of urethane foams by a one-shot foaming process.

Another object is to devise novel liquid toluene diamine phosgenation product compositions suitable for use in the one-shot process for the manufacture of cellular urethanes.

These and still further objects of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description thereof.

It has now been discovered that polyisocyanate compositions, and especially liquid polyisocyanates compositions particularly suitable for the manufacture of urethane polymers by the one-shot foaming process, can be prepared by subjecting a degassed and solvent free toluene-,

diamine phosgenation mixture to a thermal treatment, whereby the degassed phosgenation mixture essentially devoid of solvents is heated at temperatures suflicient to cause conversion in a reasonable duration of time, of at least a fraction of the tolylene diisocynate present in the phosgenation mixture to liquid polymeric isocyanate compositions useful in the manufacture of urethane foam polymers by the one-shot foaming process. In particular it has been discovered that submitting an undistilled toluene diamine phosgenation product which has been degassed and stripped of solvent to heating periods of 2 to 25 hrs. at temperatures of 1450 to 200 C. under an applied pressure of to about 760 mm. of Hg causes conversion of the undistilled toluenediamine phosgenation product to liquid polyisocynate compositions of increased viscosity and reduced isocyanate content particularly suitable for the manufacture of urethane polymers by the one-shot foaming process.

In the actual performance of the process of the present invention it has been discovered that heating intervals of 16 to 18 hrs. at temperatures of to C. and at an applied pressure of about 760 mm. Hg. are particularly suitable for the successful operation of the process. At heating temperatures below about 140 C., the heating cycles are inordinately lengthened thereby allowing the occurrence of condensations which lead to the separation from the liquid polyisocyanate compositions of solid particles which catalyze the production of additional solid particles on storage thereby necessitating subsequent treatment of the polyisocyanate compositions immediately prior to use. Such treatment is undesirable and uneconomic; it may involve filtration, decantation or rephosgenation to remove the solid deposits; At heating temperatures in excess of 200 C., for example at about 230 C., vio lent explosions occur causing damage even to steel reactors and creating hazards to the operators of the process equipment. At temperatures in excess of 200 C., it is probable that initially some of the isocyanate groups are converted with the loss of the elements of carbon dioxide to carbodiimides which are known to catalyze the conversion of isocyanates to carbodiimides so that at temperatures in excess of 200 C. an autocatalytic process may develop rapidly, resulting in the production of substantial amounts of carbodiimides accompanied by the generation of carbon dioxide in quantities sufiicient to cause violent rupture of the reactors and create extremely hazardous conditions for the operators of the process equipment.

While we are not certain of the nature of the transformations which occur in the undistilled toluenediamine phosgenation mixtures during the process of this invention, it appears possible that the liquid polyisocyanate compositions of this invention are formed through the condensation of tolylene disocyanates which constitute the major portion of the phosgenation mass with certain impurities which may be present in it. Such impurities may be in the form of ureas obtained by condensation, during the phosgenation process, of a carbamoyl chloride group with an amine group. Such impurities may also occur in the form of benzimidazolones resulting from the phosgenation of orthodiamine impurities present in the predominantly meta toluenediamine mixture being phosgenated.

While these and other impurties may be identified in the crude phosgenation mixtures and may interact with each other or with isocyanate groups to form the complex liquid polyisocyanate compositions of the present invention, and while more elaborate explanations may be brought forth to explain the formation of the liquid polyisocyanate compositions of the present invention, we do 4 The reaction mixture is then heated in a period of 3% to 4 hours to a final temperature of about 175 C. while phosgene is continuously bubbled in until the evolution of hydrogen chloride gas ceases. The phosgenation mixture is then degassed by a rapid stream of dry nitrogen not wish to rely on or be limited by these explanations in 5 and the solvent is removed by vacuum distillation at an the performance of the process of our invention. applied pressure of about 40 mm. and a temperature of The polyisocyanate compositions of the present invenabout 120-140 C. tion may be isolated in the form of residues having a A portion, 2450 grams, of the degassed and essentially viscosity range in excess of 1000 cps. at 26 C. by removsolvent free phosgeuation mixture, prepared as indicated ing a substantial amount of the unreacted monomeric above, is heated for 17 hrs. at a temperature of ISO-160 tolylene diisocyanate from the treated phosgenation mix- C. and at an applied pressure of 760 mm. during which ture. In the manufacture of urethane polymers by the onethe viscosity of the phosgenation mass, measured at 26 shot foaming process it is preferred to employ isocyanate C. increases gradually from about 12 cps. to about 86 mixture having a viscosity range of 50-250 c.p.s. at 26 15 cps. The reaction mixture is then cooled to a temperature C., so that in carrying out the process of the present of about 120 C. and fractionally distilled under an apinvention it is preferred to remove only a portion of the plied pressure of 5 mm., in order to remove as monomeric unreacted monomeric tolylene diisocyanate such that a tolylene diisocyanate a fraction Weighing 94 g. and correpolyisocyanate composition is obtained in the form of a sponding to 3.8 percent by Weight of the total reaction mobile liquid especially suitable in the manufacture of product. The remaining undistilled portion amounts to urethane foams and having a viscosity range, generally 2346 g. and has a viscosity of 89 cps. measured at 26 C. from 30 to 1000 cps. and preferably from 50 to 250 cps. and an isocyanate content corresponding to 38.7 percent at 26 C. and an isocyanate content of about 33-43 and by weight. preferably 37-41 percent by Weight. After the heating The following additional examples of the process of process, a portion of the unreacted monomeric tolylene the present invention were performed in a manner analodiisocyanate equal to 3 to percent by weight of the gous to that described in Example 1 above.

Recovered Polyiso- Phosgenation Heating Heating tolylene cyanate Viscosity Example mass charged temperature time Pressure, diisocyanate product Percent in cp.s No. in grams in C in hours mm. Hg. in grams in grams NCO at 26 0.

2, 500 150460 17 760 625 1, s00 36. 2 680 1, 350 150-160 17 760 360 888 as. 2 54 11, 500 150-160 17 760 4, 426 12, 060 38. 0 198 total weight of the reaction mixture may be removed by Whenever, in the above description and examples of this distillation, for example at a temperature of about 120 to invention, the term an applied pressure is employed, it 130 C. and an applied pressure of 5 to 10 mm, in order is intended to designate an absolute pressure in mm. Hg, to obtain in the form of a residue of polyisocyanate comfor example an applied pressure of 7 60 mm. signifies position having the preferred viscosity range and isocya- 40 an absolute pressure of 760 mm. Hg." nate content mentioned previously. I l i Phosgenation mixtures for use in the preparation of the 1. A li uid polyisocyanate composition having a visliquid polyisocyanate compositions of this invention may cosity i h range of 30 100() cps at 2 C. and an i be P p y Phosgenation of Commercial mixtures of cyanate content of 33-43%, by weight, produced by heatmetatoluenediamines containing up to 3 to 4 percent by in a degassed and essentially solvent-free toluenediamine Weight of ortho isombfs under known Phosgenation phosgenation mixture to a temperature in the range of diiiOnS for eXample Such as described in 2,642,499 140 to 200 C., maintaining said mixture at said heating The degassing and solvent Stripping temperature for 2 to 25 hours, distilling from said mixture oPerations In(11y equally be Conducted y well-known a monomeric tolylene diisocyanate fraction equal to about gassing and solvent Stripping Operations for example Such 3 to 30 percent by weight of said mixture having the as described in 2,630,129 and undistilled fraction as the liquid polyisocyanate composi- The distillation of a portion equal to 3 to 30 percent by tiOIL weight of the unreacted tolylene diisocyanate, subsequent 2, A li uid polyisocyanate composition having a i to the thermal treatment according to the process of this i in the range f 5 25 at 26 C. and an isocyanate invention may be similarly carried out under distillation content f 37 41% by Weight, produced by b i a conditions generally used distilling toll/16116 diisocya' gassed and essentially solvent-free toluenediamine phosnate provided that the distillations are performed such genation mixture to a tamperature i th range, f 150 to that the occurence of further chemical transformation and 1 0 C i i i id mixture at id h i temperathe interaction of the constituents of the reaction mixture ture f r 1 to 13 hours, i illi f id mixture a is reduced to a minimum monomeric tolylene diisocyanate fraction equal to about The process in accordance with this invention will be 25 to 30 pbrcent by i h of id mixture l i th readily understood y reference to the following Specific undistilled fraction as the liquid polyisocyanate composiexamples which are given by way of illustration and not fiom for the purpose of limiting the process of this invention A process for the production of a liquid polyisocya and the Products thereofnate composition having a viscosity in the range of 30 to EXAMPLE 1 1000 cps. at 26 C. and an isocyanate content of 33 to 43 For the preparation of the toluenediamine phosgena- Percent weight which Comprises. heimng a degasied tion mixture of the present invention, a solution of and essentially solvent-free toluene-diamme phosgenation mercial toluenediamines in ortho dichiorobenzene, corref a mm m 140 to 200 spending to a Concentration of 10 percent by Weight of maintaining said mlx-ture at 831d heating temperature for toluenediamines, is added to a Solution of phosgene i 2 to 25 hrs., distilling from said mixture a monomeric ortho dichlorobenzene corresponding to a phosgene contolylenb diisocyanate fraction equal to about 3 to 30 P centration of 25 percent b i h d to a molar ti cent by weight of said mixture leaving the undistilled of phosgene to toluene diamine of about 4 to l at such a fraction as the liquid polyisocyanate composition. rate that the reaction temperature does not exceed 20 C. 7 4. The process of claim 3 wherein the heating is carried out under an applied pressure of 100 to about 760 mm. of Hg.

5. A process for the production of a liquid polyisocyanate composition having a viscosity in the range of 50 to 250 cps. at 26 C. and an isocyanate content of 37 to 41 percent by weight, which comprises heating a degassed and essentially solvent-free toluenediarnine phosgenation mixture to a temperature in the range of about 150 to 160 C., maintaining said mixture at said temperature for about 16 to 18 hrs., distilling from said mixture a monomeric tolylene diisocyanate fraction equal to about 25 to 30 percent by Weight of said mixture leaving the undistilled fraction as the liquid polyisocyanate compositions.

6. Process of claim 5 wherein the heating is carried out under an applied pressure of 100 to about 760 mm. Hg.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 CHARLES B. PARKER, Primary Examiner. D. H. TORRENCE, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (569 CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3, 452 @073 Dated June 2 1969 Inventor(s) Andrew shultZ It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below;

Column 1, lines '17 and 18, "distill and" should read distilland Column 2 line 5, "polylsocyanates" should read polyisocyanate line 13 "diisocynate" should read diisocyanate line 23, "polyisocynate" should read polyisocyanate Column 3 line 15 "c .p.s should read cps Column in the table last heading; to right "cp.s" should read cps I Column 3 line N6 "2,6"2 499" should read 2,6"2 A 49 Column 4 line H9 "having" should read leaving line 67 "toluene-diamine" should read toluenediamine SIGNED mu SEALED APR 7 1970 (SEAL) Amt:

mm M. mm, In wmuu 50mm, .13.. At 8 on Oommalonu oQat-en 

